From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 133 The Pei Family
The Xu family occupied Baihe Mountain for about ten days.

The county government office in Tonggu County was overcrowded.

The three celestial officials, Magistrate Lü Yisong, Supervisor Jiang Hao, and Director of the Demon Subduing Division Xu Xiaoniu, gathered together.

Two days ago, Bailiwei went to the prefectural government office. Lü Yisong originally planned to hold a farewell banquet for him and congratulate him on his promotion, but Bailiwei felt it was unnecessary and declined.

Today is the day that the newly appointed Immortal Official and Forest Supervisor of Tonggu County will take office.

Besides the three celestial officials and six military officials, all the big and small officials from Tonggu County who could be named came to greet them.

This is a necessary ceremony; otherwise, if these officials encounter a newly appointed celestial official outside and do not recognize him, they might be impolite.

"I wonder which family the new forestry supervisor comes from?"

"I haven't heard any news."

"..."

The officials, all dressed in their official robes, were whispering and discussing amongst themselves.

Generally speaking, celestial officials come from families that cultivate immortality.

The probability of a cultivator's family producing a person with three or even better true spiritual roots is much higher. Being selected as a celestial official in Yuanli County almost always requires having three true spiritual roots.

Immortal officials who rose from humble beginnings like Jiang Hao are quite rare.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After waiting for a while, a figure carrying an aura of spiritual energy approached the Tonggu County government office from a distance.

He reached the fifth level of Qi cultivation, used his lightness technique, and gracefully entered the county government office.

He looked very young, with the air of a refined gentleman, wearing a white embroidered silk robe and a jade pendant at his waist.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, he walked straight up to Lü Yisong, took out his celestial official token from his robes, and presented it with both hands: "The newly appointed Director of the Forestry Bureau of Tonggu County takes office today!"

Lu Yisong was somewhat puzzled; this person walked towards him as soon as he entered, as if they knew each other.

However, he did not know in advance who the new forest supervisor was.

He accepted the celestial official's token, which was made of spirit jade, engraved with gold characters, and emitted a cool spiritual aura.

The gold characters on one side of the jade plaque read "Tonggu County," and the other side reads "Forestry Bureau." Below that, there are three smaller characters: Pei Wanchang.

"Pei Wan?!"

Upon seeing those two words, Lü Yisong's expression changed slightly: "Are you from the Pei family?"

"Yes, Magistrate Lü."

Pei Wanchang's expression was a half-smile.

"Who is Pei Bairen to you?"

"It's my third grandfather."

"..."

Lü Yisong fell silent.

The Pei family is a Qi Refining cultivator family in Tonggu County, occupying Red Maple Mountain, a spiritual mountain with a first-order spiritual vein.

In terms of lineage and heritage, the Pei family is more than ten generations older than the Lü family.

As both families develop in Tonggu County, some friction and conflict between the two Qi-cultivation families are unavoidable, and competition for resources is inevitable.

Because Lü Yisong was the county magistrate, the Lü family became powerful and the leading family in Tonggu County over the past few decades, while the Pei family was suppressed.

Lu Yisong never expected that the Pei family would produce another immortal official with three true spiritual roots so quickly!
Several decades ago, before Jing Zhuo took office as the head of the Demon Subduing Division, the head was Pei Bairen of the Pei family.

At that time, Lü Yisong was not yet the county magistrate, but the supervisor of Xianguan County.

The Lü family and the Pei family were evenly matched, each vying for supremacy.

Until Pei Bairen suddenly died because of a demonic cultivator, the Pei family fell into a disadvantageous position in the struggle between the two families.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lü Yisong targeted and kicked the Pei family when they were down, causing them great suffering.

In order to cope with the crisis, the Pei family sold off a lot of cultivation resources at a low price. The Lü family bought up all those cultivation resources at a great profit.

……

After a moment of silence, Lü Yisong forced a smile: "Your Pei family truly produces geniuses. Another celestial official has appeared without a sound. Congratulations! Haha. Supervisor Pei, I've prepared a welcome banquet for you at a winery in the suburbs. Shall we go now?"

"Very well, thank you for your hospitality, Magistrate Lü."

Pei Wanchang is no match for Lü Yisong yet. He's new here and only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. He's not capable of going toe-to-toe with Lü Yisong at the moment.

But he's young.

Lu Yisong is over 100 years old. How many more years can he live?
Once Lü Yisong dies, without the protection of the county magistrate, can the Lü family withstand the targeting of a celestial official?

Pei Wanchang wasn't even born yet, but everyone in the Pei family knew about Lü Yisong's methods back then.

He will pay for these tricks sooner or later.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On the outskirts of the city, a large winery was filled with tables laden with sumptuous feasts.

The celestial officials, military officials, and government officials took their seats according to their status and rank.

The wine glasses were clinking and the guests were feasting.

When the officials were quite drunk, some of them whispered about the feud between the Lü and Pei families.

The feud between the two families has a long history, and many people know about it.

At the head table, Xu Xiaoniu observed the atmosphere among the group with a hint of doubt.

Pei Wanchang sat on one side and Jiang Hao on the other.

Pei Wanchang kept enthusiastically clinking glasses with him and drinking.

Pei Wanchang, Lü Yisong, and Jiang Hao also clinked glasses, but their faces clearly wore fake smiles and their eyes were full of strange meaning.

Lu Yisong's reaction was similar, his face full of feigned flattery.

What are the stories of their feuds?
Xu Xiaoniu wasn't quite sure, but he didn't want to get involved in other people's grievances and only wanted to mind his own business.

On the other side, Jiang Hao also seemed to be trying to win him over, chatting with him with a smile.

Four celestial officials sat at the table, each with their own thoughts.

Lu Yisong is over 100 years old this year, and has at most 20 years left to live.

He was about to reach the ninth level of Qi Refining and had a slim chance of advancing to the Foundation Establishment Realm, but he couldn't get his hands on Foundation Establishment Pills or other treasures that could help him achieve this, so he had to rely on himself to break through.

Under such circumstances, the possibility of reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm is very small.

If the foundation is successfully established, the Lü family will ascend to another level.

If the foundation-building attempt fails, there is a high probability that the dantian and qi sea will be damaged, lifespan will be reduced by another ten years or so, and death may even occur on the spot. From then on, the Lü family will be missing a county magistrate, and the situation will be perilous.

"If I hadn't been able to establish my foundation, could Jiang Hao have protected my Lü family?"

This was another concern for Lü Yisong.

Jiang Hao is indeed his grandson-in-law, practically a son-in-law who has moved in with his wife's family. But this son-in-law is powerful and has a high status; if he were to die, no one could control him.

Another plan is to take advantage of Pei Wanchang's weak strength and find a way to kill him.

The moment the thought crossed Lü Yisong's mind, he dismissed it.

If a newly appointed celestial official dies, the higher-ups will definitely investigate thoroughly, which is too risky.

Given the capabilities of the prefectural government, his methods certainly wouldn't stand up to scrutiny.

But then he thought, what if he used the Demon Subduing Division?

The most suitable way to kill a celestial official without any mystery is to use someone else's hand, such as a demonic cultivator!

Although Lü Yisong was not directly responsible for Pei Bairen's death, he certainly played a role in pushing things along.

With this in mind, Lü Yisong focused his attention on Xu Xiaoniu, the director of the Demon Subduing Division, knowing he would need to make good use of him at this crucial moment.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Jiang Hao knew about the feud between the Lü and Pei families.

Over the years, Jiang Hao has frequently used his power as county magistrate to target the Pei family.

The Pei family is a Qi Refining family with many members. However, apart from guarding Red Maple Mountain, they have almost no other way to make money because it has been blocked.

Initially, some members of the Pei family held official positions, but Jiang Hao found excuses to dismiss or even kill them all.

Other businesses naturally couldn't be done either.

There is only one shop that tests spiritual roots, and it can earn one or two hundred taels of silver a day.

(End of this chapter)